Brooks at 2 1/2

This morning, we had Brooks's 2 1/2 year check-up, and it dawned on me that this was probably a good time to blog a few things about him at this age that I want to remember. So, for no other reason that my own memory preservation, here are ten things about this incredible little boy that I want to remember about him at 2 1/2 years old. Let's go!

1. Pronouns are hard.

One of my favorite things about two-year-olds is their Caveman-speak. I hear a lot of "Me do it" or "Me have one" or "Me want that." As much as the grammar snob in me wants to correct it, I've been around this block enough times to know that it's fleeting, so I'm HIGHLY encouraging the "me" to stick around. ;) He will occasionally get the "I" part correct...but more often than not, he talks as "me." 

2. Kidz Bop is his JAM.
Specifically, Kidz Bop 37 is his jam. Current obsessions include "How Long," "Havana" (which he affectionately calls Havana Na Na), and "Mi Gente." We made the catastrophic mistake of buying the CD at Target a few weeks ago in an attempt to save our data in the car, and the minute we buckle him in that car seat, he demands, "Play How Long!" It was cute at first...not so much four weeks in...sigh.

3. He has some mean dance moves.

Building on number two, he throws down some wicked moves when we turn those songs on the TV upstairs. He can jump, spin, and bounce with the best of 'em. My favorite is the head bob.

4. He is an engineer. Or doctor. Okay, or ice cream man.

His favorite toys currently are the doctor kit, the magna-tiles, or his ice cream truck. You can find this boy either building a house, giving someone a check-up, or asking "What do you want?" from his ice cream truck at nearly every hour of the day. I'm praying that we further pursue one of his first two options... 

5. He loves his people.
The first thing this sweet boy does when he comes downstairs in the morning or after a nap is assess the room. He wants to know who is here, who is missing, and where his people are. He is NOT a fan of anyone in the group being missing. Ever. His ideal world includes all five of us...all the time. It's the sweetest thing.

6. He has some wicked gymnastics ability.

So, I noticed out the window earlier this week that he has figured out a little front handspring-type move, 100% on his own. He bounces on his knees first and then flips over forward. We absolutely did not teach him this, nor can his big brother or sister do it. I'm going to go ahead and call this one a gymnast - what do you think?

7. He still naps like a pro.

Fun fact: Brooks is legitimately the ONLY child in his preschool class that takes a nap every single day. There is one other that occasionally naps, too, but Brooks naps every single day for at least an hour. With my older two, this was an age where naps were either dropped entirely or became a battle. Not with this one. He is the best little sleeper!

8. He's a peanut.

We had a well-check earlier this week, and despite my 100% confidence that he would've jumped up past the fifth percentile for weight...we did not. We stayed exactly the same. He is in the fifth percentile for weight and 15th for height. We are still in 12-18 month pants and 18-24 month tops, occasionally a 2T shirt if it's cute enough to wear a little big. He seems a little bit stockier and filled out to me, but percentiles don't lie, so apparently we're still a peanut. (I secretly love it!) 

9. He is not a fan of any meat other than pepperoni.
Don't even bother offering this kid chicken or turkey or beef - he'll have none of it. Pepperoni or nothin' for this kid. It's so very healthy. Except not.

10. His favorite place is on the kitchen counter.
I pray that he still feels at home enough to hop up on our counter when he's 25. It's my favorite spot to chat with him. :)

This little boy is just so special, and I cannot wait to see what BIG and beautiful things God has planned for his life. Love you, sweet boy!

Brooks Turns TWO!

Brooksie Brooks, you are TWO!

I can't even believe it. Last year on September 16th, you were living in an orphanage on the other side of the world. You had a family, but you didn't know it yet, and you certainly didn't understand what a birthday was. We did our best to celebrate you in your absence, but our hearts were just broken to know you were so far away on such a special day. 

This year, we spent the day doing all your favorite things!

We started the morning with donuts...because 'Merica. ;) 

After opening and playing with your presents from Mommy, Daddy, Carter, and Kate, we headed up to play at the mall and go pick out some clothes for our Build-A-Bears. You picked out an Elmo outfit, complete with slippers, and then we played and rode the cars at the play area before heading to the food court for lunch. This was strategy - I knew you'd want your beloved lo mein noodles, but I wasn't about to clean those up at home, so the food court was the perfect place to let you glory in your love for the noodle. Bonus - we even ran into your sweet teacher eating lunch with her husband! 

After that, we headed home for naps and to get ready for your big fiesta! Cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles arrived late that afternoon, and we had a "Choo Choo, He's TWO!" party. :) Not only are trains one of your favorite things, but your Chinese name was also Zhi Qiu (pronounced Ji Choo), and your ayis in China called you Qiu Qiu (pronounced Choo Choo), so obviously that fit. ;) 

You LOVED all the attention, ate great food, got more presents from your family, and even tried your hand at a pinata! 

Your absolute favorite part of the day was watching all your family sing "Happy Birthday" to you. After you blew out the candles and we all cheered, you got the BEST little grin on your face. You know routinely ask for "Happy" anytime we sit down to eat. Apparently, you think this is going to be a regular thing around here...

Brooks, we don't know what we did right to get the absolute JOY of being your parents, but all of us truly count our lucky stars EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. that the Lord blessed us with the gift of YOU. You are incredibly smart, kind, observant, loving, compassionate, funny (SO funny), and dangerously handsome. Your joy is contagious, and I've yet to meet someone who doesn't immediately fall head over heels for you. Adoption is not an easy road for anyone involved, and there is a lot of fear and brokenness at times...but YOU, dear boy, are worth every sleepless night, every grey hair, and every blank on every piece of paper we had to fill out to bring you home. I would go through it all a thousand times over just for one of your million dollar smiles and to hear your sweet little voice call "Mommy."

We love you, sweet one...happy 2nd birthday!  

Thoughts Floating Around My Head During My Son's Birthday Week...

I wish I had a prettier title for this post, but that's truly what this post is...my random thoughts. I have so many thoughts swirling in my head right now. Here, in Texas, I'm planning the food and decorations for a family birthday party called "Choo Choo, He's Two!" (What can I say? I love a good theme.) But, if I'm being honest, my heart feels a million miles away. I can't get this amazing boy's first mama out of my mind, and I can't stop wondering how this week looked on the other side of the world two years ago. 

 I imagine that today, roughly six days before he was born, that his first mama was, like we all are, quite uncomfortable. Although it was guessed by China that Brooks was born prematurely, we don't know exactly how premature and we don't know why he was born early. I wonder if she was having complications. I wonder if she was, understandably, O-V-E-R her pregnancy, encouraging his exit with those old wives' tales like eating spicy food and going on long walks. Or was it a surprise? Was it one of those 3 a.m. births where you wake up your partner and simply declare, "It's time?"

These are things I'll never know the answer to, of course, but my mind still goes there.

I wonder how she went into labor. Was it natural? Induced? Was he a C-Section? Who held his first mama's hand? Was his biological father in the picture? Was he born at home or in a hospital? I know his weight and length on the day he was found, but what was his birth weight? Length? What time was he born? 

My mind continues to wander further.

When was the decision officially made not to parent him? Before he was born? At his birth? In the days between his birth and finding? Did first mama nurse him and love on him until she placed him? Or was that too difficult, knowing what was to come next?

And then the reality truly sets in: I will most likely NEVER get answers to my questions, not this side of heaven anyway.

It stings.

 If I'm being honest, a year ago, before I really knew and loved my son, I thought I could carry on as if none of this mattered. I had convinced myself that we were his forever family, so all that mattered was that we loved him and he was safe with us. What did it matter how his life started when it began all over again on his Adoption Day?

How naive I was.

Here's the thing - a year ago, I didn't KNOW my son. He simply existed as a few sheets of translated Mandarin and two pictures. That's it. I knew that his nannies called him an "active and sometimes impatient" boy. He wore a lot of pink (as real men do), the ayis kept his pants up with a bungee cord (bless it), and I knew he needed his formula thickened due to reflux (of course he did...told you he was meant to be ours). I had been told he liked cars and music (true) and liked it when his orphanage mama took him outside (also true). A year ago, that's all I "knew" of Brooks.

But now?

I know that he has incredible agility and speed and athleticism. (That's the respectful way of saying he's part spider monkey. Kid has SKILL.) I know that he is wickedly smart and observant. If you see him standing in a corner quietly with his back turned to you, RUN, don't walk...because he's ALWAYS up something. I know that he has a million dollar smile and a belly laugh that sets your heart on fire.

And where it comes full circle for me is when I realize that this boy that I love was gifted these traits by people I'll never get to know or thank. The gifts those first parents gave him through biology - intelligence, sense of humor, an infectious smile - are gifts that I now enjoy every day. Some days, I'm not even sure that's fair.

So, I sit in this tension. I order the balloons and buy the paper plates and wrap presents with my heart torn in half because the truth is that even though he's fully MINE, I also know that he was once fully HERS.

Regardless if I get my questions answered in this life or not, God is still good and Brooks is still my son. Regardless if I am ever able to give Brooks details on his biology or not, God is still in control. I cannot control the outcome of these questions and these unknowns, but I can pray that the Lord grants me comfort and wisdom as I navigate through this journey of parenting Brooks.

That's all we really can do with kids, right? We can cross every t, dot every i, and the truth is that we will STILL fail our kids because we're human. 

My prayer this week is that his first family is thinking of this incredibly bright, beautiful, special boy. I pray that they somehow know how happy, healthy, and loved he is. We entered into a brokenness that we will not ever truly repair when we chose to adopt Brooks, AND YET, the Lord has been faithful and called us here, so we rest in the fact that we will one day see the whole picture.

And now that I've let this all out there...let's get down to business and throw that little guy a good old-fashioned American birthday party! Do you think Chinese kids like pinatas?? ;)    

Happy 1st Birthday, Brooks!

Today is our baby Brooks's first birthday. 

 

My prayer today is that he feels special. I don't know whether or not the photo album we sent a couple of weeks ago was given to him yet or not, I don't know whether or not his birthday was acknowledged by the orphanage or not, and I don't know whether or not he got some extra hugs and love from his caregivers today. My heart aches to know, but I'm, unfortunately, not privileged enough to know that information yet. 

I do know that more than 7,000 miles away, his forever family had him on their minds all day. I do know that we prayed for and celebrated him. And, most importantly, I do know that his Heavenly Father was there with him in our absence. And that just has to be enough for now.

So, how do you celebrate a baby who is halfway around the world and doesn't even know you exist yet?

You send balloons "to China" of course! 

And then you let your older kids dive into a cake in his honor.

And then you buy ALL THE BABY THINGS at Target.

And you end the day by calling USCIS to check on the status of your I800 application...and you REJOICE because it was approved three days ago! HUGE progress, y'all! HUGE!

I've also had Brooks's birthmom in my mind a lot today, and I can't help but wonder how gut-wrenching this day must be for her. A year ago today, she gave birth to the most perfect and precious little baby that she knew she couldn't parent, and what loss and grief she must be feeling today as she remembers their first few moments together. Although I'll likely never know her name or her story, I do pray that she feels comforted to know that her baby is in good care and has a forever family just ACHING and RACING to get to him. I pray she knows that he is loved deeply and that we will spend the rest of our lives showing him the love and power of a family. She made an incredibly brave choice, and even though I'm not privy to knowing her reasoning behind her decisions, one year ago today she chose LIFE for our boy. We will share this child always, and in some strange and cosmic way, we will always be connected. I will never stop being grateful to her for not terminating her pregnancy and giving her son a chance for a future, even if it is not a future he will share with her physically.

So, that's what we did today. And you'd better believe that we will do his second birthday BIG to make up for it. :) 

TGIF, friends! 

Kate's "Ninnie Nouse" Birthday Party

 Tonight we celebrated our littlest turning TWO! I can't believe it!

Since she doesn't have true "friends" yet, we just had our family over for a backyard swimming party, and my sweet friend, Brandi, passed on to us her daughter's Minnie Mouse 2nd birthday party decorations which were perfect. Kate has been talking about her "Ninnie Nouse" birthday party for WEEKS! :)

 Pre-party photo op. Pardon the little lady's scowl...she was not so pleased to be woken up from her nap early. ;)

I love to decorate the mantle with my kids' baby pictures on their birthdays. It's our own little walk down memory lane.

Another birthday tradition we have around here is the annual chalkboard. I like to write up the child's stats, milestones, favorites, and I always ask the child what he or she wants to be as a grown-up. All I could get out of  Kate was that she'd be a mommy when she was a grown-up. :) Sounds about right!

 We set up the slide to go into the kiddie pool out back. So easy, and the kids were thrilled. :)

 Love these two girls.

 She's not enjoying herself at all.

 Carter, Kensi, and Grant

 Dinner time!

 It's my party, and I'll drink juice with no pants if I want to.

 Liam!

 Sweet brothers.

 Cupcake time!

 Not bad for Duncan Hines. ;)

 The best we could get of all 5 cousins.

We love this girl!

More pool fun after the cake!

We unleashed the beast for the last hour. Poor girl wanted in on the fun!

And she FINALLY showed interest in the ears when the party was over. OF. COURSE. (Insert frustrated emoji.) 

We had so much fun with our super simple party. It was zero stress, super inexpensive, 0% Pinterest, and the kids had an absolute blast. It was exactly what we needed, and such a good reminder that kids don't always need us to make things "magical" and over the top for them. The magic is in being a CHILD, and tonight was such a good reminder for me of that. 

Happy happy birthday (tomorrow) to our big girl! We love you, Kate!

Carter is FOUR!

I cannot believe my baby boy is FOUR!!! 

We had a great weekend celebrating this big guy with family and friends. We started the morning with pancakes, headed off to church, and then came home for presents. He got his first bike and was PUMPED! It took him NO time to figure out how to go, and I am now running after him on walks. So much for those negative exercise Jeep rides! ;)

One of his favorite shows right now is Bubble Guppies, and that's the theme he chose for his birthday party. After throwing out a lengthy list of possible locations for the party (which were all rejected), Carter decided he wanted to have his friends over to our house to celebrate. He's a total homebody, so this was not super surprising to me now that he's become so...ahem...opinionated. So, two bounce houses, two bubble machines, and 36 cupcakes later, we had ourselves a Bubble Guppies bash for Cart and 12 of his friends!

Carter has really come into his own and developed quite a goofy, independent, and protective little personality this year. He is growing and learning every day, and it has been so much fun to watch him blossom from the quiet and shy little three year-old toddler into the fun and playful four year-old. Over the past year, he took swim lessons, attended preschool three days a week, played soccer for the first time, and developed his first real friends. He is changing everyday, and I cannot wait to see what adventures come his way this year. Couldn't love you more if I tried, buddy! XOXO.